The Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) was a

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

research group started in January 1952 by Jim and Coral Lorenzen, of Sturgeon Bay,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The group was based in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

after 1960. APRO had many state branches, it remained active until late 1988. APRO stressed scientific field investigations, and had a large staff of consulting

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

scientists. A notable example was James E. McDonald of the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, a well-known atmospheric physicist, and perhaps the leading scientific UFO researcher of his time. Another was James Harder of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, a civil and hydraulic engineering professor, who acted as director of research from 1969-1982. McDonald and Harder were among six scientists who testified about UFOs before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Astronautics on July 29, 1968, when they sponsored a ''one-day'' symposium on the subject. Astronomer J. Allen Hynek cited APRO and

NICAP The National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) is an unidentified flying object (UFO) research group most active in the United States from the 1950s to the 1980s. It remains active primarily as an informational depository on th ...

as the two best civilian UFO groups of their time, consisting largely of sober, serious minded people capable of valuable contributions to the subject.Hynek, J. Allen, ''The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry'', Chicago: Henry Regenery Co., 1972 In 1969, a sizable portion of APRO's membership elected to form a new group named the "Midwest UFO Network"; this soon expanded and became the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), still active today.

References

External links

History of the APRO
{{UFOs 1952 establishments in Wisconsin 1988 disestablishments in Arizona Defunct organizations based in Arizona Organizations based in Tucson, Arizona Organizations disestablished in 1988 Organizations established in 1952 Research organizations in the United States UFO organizations UFO culture in the United States